Abramovich steps up his Chelsea role
Roman Abramovich is taking a hands-on role in how Chelsea will replace Michael Emenalo as technical director and wants to be sure the club remain stable through their latest period of change.
The owner is in the uncommon position of having a close ally resign, rather than being sacked, and the Russian has held meetings with all his key staff on the matter.
Abramovich’s business interests around the world mean that he cannot oversee the day-to-day running of Chelsea, but he will be more heavily involved after the former Nigeria defender stood down.
That was demonstrated by Abramovich’s visit to the club’s Cobham training ground after the victory over Bournemouth, when he held discussions with Emenalo over his decision but failed to change his mind.
Abramovich has also spoken to directors Marina Granovskaia and Eugene Tenenbaum, and chairman Bruce Buck.
Emenalo had indicated in the summer that he wanted to leave, but Abramovich had hoped to change his mind and the club found out only a few days ago that the 52-year-old had decided that this international break would be the right time to go.
Chelsea had no succession plan in place and Granovskaia and Buck have been put in charge of making sure Emenalo’s responsibilities are covered, with Granovskaia taking on a greater role. The prospect of Granovskaia keeping a number of Emenalo’s jobs has not been ruled out. But Abramovich will ultimately decide whether he wants a straight replacement for Emenalo.
One man who is extremely close to Abramovich is Leonid Slutsky, coach of Championship strugglers Hull City. He is said to be focused on turning Hull’s fortunes around, but were he to be sacked then there is every chance the 46-year-old could be offered some kind of role at Stamford Bridge.
Emenalo’s departure could also pave the way for Abramovich to try again to bring former striker Didier Drogba back to the club in some capacity. Drogba joined Phoenix Rising as a player-owner earlier this year with the plan to move into a sporting director role once he hangs up his boots.
Other than deciding over how to best replace Emenalo, Abramovich wants to be confident that Chelsea maintain a stable environment for head coach Antonio Conte and his players. Conte will report to Granovskaia, Tenenbaum and Buck, but will not yet face any questions over his handling of central defender David Luiz.
Luiz is due back in training today and his omission from the Manchester United game is not being likened to the situation of Diego Costa. Costa had asked to leave the club on at least three occasions before falling out with Conte, while Luiz was punished for poor form and questioning his manager’s approach.
What happens next for Luiz is entirely in his own hands. If he displays the right attitude and a willingness to fight for his place, then it is believed he will be given every opportunity to win back his place. But Conte made it abundantly clear during a stormy meeting last week that any player who does not follow his path will be frozen out.